Near and Deer
by TeamUnitedNerds
Summary: A story about how #17 received his power boost in Dragon Ball Super.


Flying always gave Android 17 perspective. He looked at Emerald Island, his home, the dark trees subtly illuminated by the moonlight, the animals scattered beneath him. It looked more like a model play-set than a real island, when he floated this far above it. Even the shack where his family resided, which cast a warm orange glow on the surrounding grass, looked so artificial from up there.

Android 17 knew that, no matter how far he went, it would always look just as beautiful and real up close. He could hardly believe that there was once a time in his life, not too long ago, when he would've destroyed this entire island without hesitation. He would've probably ended up killing his wife, Jade and his adopted children, too, without even knowing who they were.

He descended from the sky with a woosh, landing at the start of a familiar trail. He knew that Jade was waiting for him, and that he would need to go home soon, but he hoped she'd understand if he stayed out a little longer. These late-night walks always helped him clear his head.

The trail on the ground was thin, and faded, and mostly obscured by fallen leaves, but 17 knew it by heart. He was surrounded by trees on either side, and occasionally, a deer would dart past him, stopping for a moment to stare at him with reflected moonlight in its eyes before running off. He wondered if their gaze was judgemental, if they knew that he wasn't natural, and that he didn't belong in a place like this.

He heard birds flutter from the trees, and he saw their bodies outlined against the moonlight. He imagined that Android 16 would've loved to be here beside him. It was funny, he thought, how far that killing machine had diverged from his original programming.

17 finally reached the end of the trail, which lead to a clearing, perfectly circular, and walled-in completely by trees, save for the mouth of the path. In the center was a lone, ancient tree stump

Android 17 sat on the stump, as he had many times before. He used this spot for training, typically. The poachers he fought were never strong enough to imperil him in the slightest, but he felt that it was good to stay on his guard and make sure he was in peak shape regardless.

He kept himself balanced on the stump, while launching a barrage of punches and kicks at a nonexistent opponent. His body held remarkable power, as a result of Dr. Gero's tampering, but his form and technique still needed work.

He got into a sort of rhythm, as his flurry of attacks defeated one imaginary poacher after the other. His trance was interrupted, as the chilling whimper of a deer in pain cut through the trees, preceded by several sharp gunshots.

Android 17 soared towards the site of the cry, skillfully weaving between trees and branches.

When he arrived at the spot, he was greeted by a harrowing sight. There was indeed a deer, on the ground, its underbelly perforated by bullet holes. Standing above it was a young man, with bright red hair, obviously dyed. He had a lit cigarette pinched between his lips, and was holding a handgun in one hand, the barrel still letting off a thin wisp of smoke. His smile was bright, and so were his soulless green eyes.

"What are you doing?" 17 said, grinding his teeth together. He hadn't felt anger like this in a long time.

"Well, right now, I'm having a smoke. But, a few seconds ago, I fucking shot the shit out of this deer. I'm guessing that's the one that you were asking about, right?"

17 clenched his fists.

"Put the gun down," 17 said.

The red-haired man didn't say anything. He simply raised his arm, and fired off a volley of shots from his gun, until the magazine was empty.

17 effortlessly snatched the bullets out of the air, and then, to show that he had strength as well as speed, he crushed them in his grip.

"Wow, I guess the rumors about you are true. You really are some kind of fucking freak. I guess that means that the other one's true too, right?"

"What other rumor?" 17 said.

"You know, the one about the animals on this island. How there's one that makes you immortal if you can kill it, and another one that gives you incredible power. I'm after the second one, and apparently it looks like a deer. I guess this one wasn't it, though,"

He kicked the deer's corpse, sending the limp body flying by a few inches with a repulsive sound before it fell to the ground with tragic uselessness.

"I guess I'll just have to keep killing them until I find the right one, right?"

"You won't. I'll stop you," 17 said coldly.

"No, you really won't."

He reloaded his gun, and then, he took his cigarette out of his mouth, and a flask out of his pocket. He turned the flask upside-down, and poured out its clear, strong-smelling contents onto the ground. Then, he dropped the cigarette into the resulting puddle.

The puddle erupted into a ball of flame that soon swallowed up the trees and the grass that was usually dry around this time of year. In the resulting chaos, the poacher ran off, disappearing into the swirling flames. 17 could've killed him, easily, but he knew he couldn't cross that line again, not without permanent consequences, and that left him paralyzed.

17 knew that he needed to capture him eventually, but he also knew that a raging fire was far more dangerous than one man with a gun. The fire was spreading, rapidly, and it would soon consume the entire region of the island if it wasn't stopped.

17 cursed himself for not being more prepared. The kid wasn't the first poacher who had come to this forest hoping to kill one of its supposedly mystical creatures, so 17 was usually ready to deal with firepower, but not fire. He did keep a fire extinguisher back at his cabin, but it was woefully insufficient for what he was dealing with now.

17's combat skills were useless in this scenario, too. A ki blast obviously wouldn't work in this situation, and he certainly couldn't punch the flames away, either. His flight...ah, perhaps his ability to fly could be of use.

17 flew into the air. Normally, he did this to take in the beauty of the island, but now he was trying to assess how far the fire had spread. Then, he flew to the very edge of the fire, and began to fly around the edge in a circle. He did this several times, with increasing speed, and it soon produced the result he was hoping for. His speed created a ring-shaped vortex, surrounding the flames.

Despite the roar of the whirling vortex he was creating, he could still periodically hear the thundering crack of a gunshot, as the poacher shot another deer, while they tried to escape from the raging fire. 17's vortex was successful, and before long, it snuffed out the fire like an enormous birthday candle. The charred trees and the misplaced animals would need to be addressed, but 17 would need to stop the poacher before he caused any more harm.

The gunshots persisted, so 17 had no trouble identifying his location. When he finally got there, the poacher was approaching a deer with a bullet wound in its side. The deer had sky blue fur, and it glowed with a soft ethereal light that mirrored the moon's glow.

"Huh, I guess I did it! There's no way that deer isn't the magical one! I feel stronger already!" he said triumphantly.

"Why, why are you doing this?" 17 said. "Even if killing that creature made you more powerful, why? Why do you need power so much?"

The poacher shrugged. "I dunno. I like the idea of being strong. I think it'd be really cool if I could just, like, fucking kill someone whenever I wanted to."

"What the hell is wrong with you? Does anything matter to you?"

"No, why should it?" he said. "Nothing fucking matters. Nobody's life means fucking anything, dude. Now, since I'm way fucking stronger than you, you should get out of my way, before I-"

Something snapped inside 17, and something primal was unleashed. He rushed the poacher, swinging his leg in a brutal full-force roundhouse kick. He didn't care how strong the poacher had become, he was ready to fight with everything he had.

17's kick was strong enough to crack a mountain, so the poacher's skull didn't stand a chance. "Explode" would've been too insignificant a word for what happened to the poacher's head, as the greenery was splattered with indistinguishable bits of bone, blood, and brain matter as they flew in every direction. The poacher's body, along with his mangled neck-stump, went flying, landing somewhere between the trees. 17 didn't even bother to look to see where the body had landed. He had no intention of removing it. 17 figured that, if his corpse was made the meal of some predator, it'd be the first time he was useful in all his existence.

17 was astounded. He knew he was strong, but was the boost in power that this creature provided so insignificant that he could still obliterate his foe in a single kick?

No, that couldn't be it. This didn't feel right. 17 knelt down, to get a closer look at the ethereal deer. His fears were confirmed, as he saw the creature's chest rise and fall, and he heard its barely-audible wheezes.

He always knew he would have to do this, but he never expected it to be this soon. He had to do the right thing and creature out of its misery.

He didn't want to use a ki blast-; he wouldn't be able to stand the intensity. It needed to be something quick and simple, something he wouldn't need to put much thought into. He closed his eyes and brought his foot up, before bringing it down with tremendous force. He tried to block out the audible crack, and the squishing sound that followed, but they still pierced through his eardrums and filed his body with a shameful heat.

Worse than the sin of killing an innocent creature was the sense of familiarity that came with it. The inevitable surge of power that the creature provided wasn't exciting, and the buzz of energy that now boiled inside of him was almost indistinguishable from his burning guilt.

This power was not a blessing. It was a tremendous weight upon his shoulders, and one that he was going carry for a long time.

17 promptly went home, and rushed straight to his bedroom. He wrapped his arms around Jade, pulling her as close to his chest as he could. Their hearts beat together, just slightly out of sync. 17 wanted to say something, but no words would suffice, truthfully. He had taken an innocent life, and with it, he was reminded that he had taken so many others. He was reminded that, in another time, he had brought humanity to his knees, that he had killed countless people without a second thought. Jade and his future children were probably among them, and the person he nearly was looked at them as meaningless peons, helpless creatures he could wipe away without consequence. There was simply no apology that he could give, not to her, and not to himself. He was grateful, though, that she loved him enough to never ask for one.

16 and 17 sat next to each other. Their eyes were both fixed to a bird, a small thing with blue feathers that neither of them knew the name of.

The bird perched itself on 16's broad, armored shoulder, and let out a gentle chirp.

"Catch," 17 said, hurling a flat rock at the bird. It erupted in a brief and barely perceptible burst of feathers and carnage.

"Wow, good shot," 17 said, marveling at his own skill.

"You should not have done that." 16 said.

"Oh yeah? Why not?" 17 said, hurling another rock. This one struck 16's face, and shattered into powder on impact.

"Because, you should know better," 16 said.

"Psh, I don't know anything."


End file.
